Nyíregyháza Zoo Reveals the Sex of Polar Bear Cubs

The first veterinary examination was carried out on the polar bear cubs born last November in the Nyíregyháza Zoo (northeastern Hungary) on Thursday, both male, completely healthy, and weighing fourteen kilograms.

For the first time since their birth, the cubs were taken from the mother to be examined, an eleven-year-old female named Snezhana, and the animal responded by audibly roaring and pounding the cage. The veterinarians examined and vaccinated the cubs, determined their sex, and weighed them. The cubs are both males and weigh fourteen kilograms each. After a quick examination, the veterinarians immediately returned the visibly distressed and screaming cubs to their mother.

Snezhana, who arrived from the Moscow Zoo in 2017, was mated in mid-May last year with a male from Karlsruhe, Germany, named Lloyd. On the day she and Lloyd met, the first mating took place; a week later, the two animals were separated and the female joined another male in the zoo, named Fiete, in the Ice World exhibit. The mother bear retreated to her cave at the end of November and the two cubs were born on November 27, 2024.

In an almost unprecedented way, cameras were able to record the birth and the growth of the cubs, that is a great help to scientists working on the survival of the species.

Their births have long been kept secret because polar bears are born very immature, cubs are small and clumsy, they cannot see or hear, and their bodies are covered in very thin fur. The first three months are the most critical period for their survival.

Photo: MTI/Balázs Attila

In the wild, newborn polar bears remain in the snow cave for about three months under the care of the mother bear, during which time the mother bear does not feed, living only on her fat reserves.

The cubs born in the zoo also came out of the cave for a short time after three months.

Thanks to their mother’s milk, which contains 31 percent fat, the little polar bears grow at a rapid rate, weighing 0.6 kilograms at birth and around 7-11 kilograms at three to four months. As in the wild, the offspring are expected to stay with their mother for two years, learning the daily life of a polar bear.

Photo: MTI/Balázs Attila

Living in the Arctic, the polar bear feels at home in a realm of constant frost and ice. It lives in the wild exclusively on meat and is an excellent swimmer and diver. It dives underwater with its eyes open and nostrils closed, and can go up to two minutes without breathing.

Although the species has no natural predators and is well adapted to harsh conditions, its numbers are steadily declining. Global warming is causing the Arctic ice to melt, the animal’s habitat is narrowing, and its natural food base is rapidly shrinking. In nature, it is listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. In the past year, six polar bear cubs have been born in zoos around the world.

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